Dressing Your Newborn for Any Type of Weather

Updated: April 16, 2013

Nothing’s sweeter than your baby’s birthday suit. But let’s face it: He’s got to get dressed sometime. While cuteness counts when it comes to picking out your baby’s clothes, so do comfort and safety. Newborns arrive with plenty of smarts, but one thing they haven’t yet mastered is regulating their own body temperature — that happens at about six months. Meantime, it’s up to you to keep your little bundle bundled just right when you step outside — not too warm, not too cool. Here’s how.

Layer it on. The layered look is precious on a new baby — but it’s also practical. Adding or subtracting a lightweight layer is the best way to warm your baby up quickly when the weather takes a turn for the chilly, or cool him down when it’s heating up — or when you’ve come in from the cold.

Babies need a hat outside. A lightweight hat with a brim protects your baby’s head from the sun in warm weather and traps the heat he needs when it’s cool — making it a must-have outdoor accessory in just about any weather.

Babies need an extra layer. Your brand new cutie usually needs about one light layer more than you do. That might mean a light sweater for him on a T-shirt day for you or a toasty inner layer under his bunting when you’re working a parka. His plus-one can also be a blanket or his stroller’s rain cover, which will keep out the elements and keep in some heat.

Never over bundle. Babies dressed in too many layers, though, can overheat easily. So strip those layers off as soon as you’re indoors — whether you’ve come home from an outing or stopped off at the mall and even if your sweetie is snoozing. In fact, overheating during sleep is linked to SIDS.

And don’t forget that summer babies are just as likely to be over bundled as winter ones, putting them at risk for heat-related conditions. So skip the extra layers when the temperatures soar.

Do a neck check. The easiest way to tell whether your baby is too warm or too chilly is to reach under his clothes to check his arms, eyes, or the nape of his neck. Those little hands and feet are soft to squeeze, but they’re always cool to the touch in young babies making them an unreliable temperature gage.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect the First Year. Health information on this site is based on peer-reviewed medical journals and highly respected health organizations and institutions including ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), as well as the What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.